Preparation and evaluation of particleboard bonded with a soy flour-based adhesive with a new curing agent

Urea-formaldehyde (UF) resin is one of the most commonly used wood adhesives for making particleboards. However, UF emits carcinogenic formaldehyde and is derived from nonrenewable petrochemicals. In this study, a new formaldehyde-free wood adhesive that is based on soy flour and a renewable material-based curing agent (CA) were prepared and evaluated for the preparation of M-2 grade particleboards. The new CA was derived from ammonia and epichlorohydrin that can be derived from renewable glycerol. The composition of the adhesive was soy flour/sodium hydroxide/CA at a dry weight ratio of 9/0.3/1.0. The modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, and internal bond strength met the minimum industrial requirements of M-2 particleboards using the following variables: hot-press temperature of 190 °C, hot-press time of 240 s, the adhesive usage of the face particles of 12 wt.%, the adhesive usage of the core particles of 10 wt.%, and the target particleboard density of 0.80 g/cm3.